Auberge La Corneilla ** - Cournanel (Limoux)[hotlacorneil]

Auberge La Corneilla **

Hotel - Restaurant
Auberge de la
Corneilla located
in Cournanel (Aude) near Limoux, and twenty five kilometers from the city of Carcassonne welcomes you in the Cathar country in a warm and friendly atmosphere with two large rooms and a shaded terrace
at the edge of the river.

Very nice in the summer for its rural setting...

During holidays we offer special menus (christmas, valentine easter, mother's day, etc ...)
two to three times per year at the change of season we change the map and menu with seasonal ingredients.
In the weekend we offer in addition to the normal map a menu at 26 € with drinks
(wine and coffee) included.

Limoux is best known for its sparkling wine, Blanquette de Limoux. This is reputed to be the oldest sparkling wine in France and dates back to 1531 when Benedictine monks from Saint Hilaire Abbey discovered that the wine they had laid down had fermented and formed bubbles. This was the beginning of Limoux’s bubbly - the Blanquette de Limoux which was the first AOC to be created in the Languedoc area. The process (the locals say) was stolen by Dom Perignon who went on to create ‘champagne‘. however the Limoux sparkling wine is a very high quality champagne substitute and Crémant, which was developed in 1990, has a top class reputation. Now a prestigious event attracting buyers from all over the world, “Toques & Clochers” puts up for auction the most promising barrels of AOC Limoux. A share of the proceeds are then used to finance the renovation of bell towers in surrounding villages. Every year the auction is hosted by one of France’s great chefs popularly referred to as a “Toques”, the traditional white chef’s hat....

Blanquette de Limoux

History tells us that Blanquette de Limoux, the world's first sparkling wine,
dates as far back as 1531. At the time, the monks of the Benedictine abbey of
Saint-Hilaire, near Limoux, were producing a somewhat unusual white wine in
their cellars. Inside its glass flask, with a cork top - very rare for wines at
this time - it acquired a natural sparkle. This was the forefather of the brut
which is tasted today at the world's most prestigious tables. Since they first
started cultivating vines, the growers of Limoux have aimed at maintaining the
originality of the Blanquette de Limoux growth and developing its quality. The
region's surrounding hills protect it from the extremes of the Mediterranean and
Atlantic climates, with the area enjoying a microclimate particularly suitable
for making quality white wine. The vines classified in the appellation are
always planted at the top of southern-facing slopes, giving the best exposure.
The soil here is shallow and sparse, full of chalk and stone....

Dinosauria is the first dinosaur museum in Europe. It has 3,000 sq m of exhibition space where you'll find a magnificent collection of dinosaurs, fossils of reptiles, mammals, invertebrates and plants from this region and throughout the world. From the Cretaceous Period glasshouse, which shows what plants were like 70 million years ago, you can get a direct view of researchers working in the laboratory. During school holidays children aged 6-12 can be shown excavation techniques and learn how to be real palaeontologists. The museum is open to the public in July and August. The excavation site is the richest deposit of fossils in France, where ... 'Eva' was discovered....

Musée Petiet

With its boldly painted rooms, high glass ceilings and drawing room furniture, this museum founded in 1880 has retained its "Belle Epoque" charm. The exhibits displayed illustrate the academic style of the second half of the 19 C. at the beginning of the 20 C. Marie Petiet, Achille Laugé collection. The Musée Petiet began when the Petiet family of artists donated their collections and their home to the town. Additional private donations, and gifts to the State make up the rest of the collection...

Musée des Automates

Visitors can discover more than 100 robots in this mechanical pantomime in a series of worlds where characters inspired by stories and myths stand side by side with the Venice Carnival and other fantasies? Tours of the creative workshop. Limoux seems to be an enchanting town where any dream is possible. If you are a fairy tale lover, the Automaton Museum (“Musée des Automates” in French) is worth a visit! You will discover a great collection of Perrault’s stories and Venice Carnival, a very enchanted world!...

Abbaye de Saint Hilaire

The Benedictine abbey of Saint-Hilaire stands in the picturesque valley of the Lauquet. It occupies a dominant position in the heart of the former medieval fortress of Saint-Hilaire. The monastery is on a human scale surrounding its Gothic cloister. It houses the sarcophagus of Saint Saturninus, a major work by the Master of Cabestany. This was where the monks invented, in 1531, the world's first sparkling wine - Blanquette....

Jardin aux Plantes parfumées
la Bouichère

In Limoux, in the High Valley of Aude, is hidden a garden of thousand and one scentences.. Perfumed Rose garden, dry Garden, medieval garden with plants from the Cathar century. An enchanting place at 15 minutes from the city of Carcassonne. 2 hectares, 2500 items of plants, waterpond, donkeys... rare cecreams with fruits of the garden... A nice collection of scented Pelargoniums, spices, scented trees… Come and say hello to our exotic birds...

Eglise St Jacques et Musée du Piano

Collection of pianos from the nineteenth century to our days. The only museum in France devoted to pianos and their manufacture. Around one hundred examples showing the evolution of the piano through two centuries of history. You will discover some very rare or even unique models : upright pianos, grand pianos, square pianos, models that open or with tilting keyboards, Pianolas and many more curiosities, some of which unique by their construction as well as their purpose...

The Angel Art Sanctuary

Lorrie's Angels

At first sight the Sanctuary is an Art Gallery but many people describe it as being more than a Gallery – a place with a unique atmosphere, that is comforting and at the same time inspirational and contemplative. The first Sanctuary was established in Rathdrum, Ireland in 2002, the country of Lorrie’s birth. It was by word of mouth from this ideyllic countryside location that more and more people came to visit and experience the Art and uniqueness of the Sanctuary....